Former Lankan coach lauds Lakmal’s bowling as ‘world class’

Former Sri Lanka fast bowler Suranga Lakmal sporting Derbyshire colours appeals successfully for an lbw decision in the match against Leicestershire  

• Ex-Lankan pace ace bowls Derbyshire to first win of season

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

While Sri Lankan Test captain Dimuth Karunaratne was making his debut for Yorkshire in the 

English County Championship against Northamptonshire, a teammate of his of not so long ago in the national side, fast bowler Suranga Lakmal was also making his mark for the first time in the county circuit for Derbyshire.

On Sunday, Lakmal who has retired from international cricket bowled Derbyshire to their first win of the season, by an innings and 68 runs over Leicestershire at Leicester. 

The win propelled Derbyshire to second place in the County Champion Division Two table with 51 points, one point behind leaders Nottinghamshire.   

Lakmal playing in his third match of the season returned figures of 2 for 52 and 2 for 57 as Derbyshire bowled out Leicestershire for totals of 213 and 250 after piling up a massive 531.  

“I’m immensely proud of the players for the work they have put in and how we have evolved in a team in the short space of time I’ve been here,” Derbyshire’s head coach, Mickey Arthur, said. 

“We’ve played 12 days of cricket so far and haven’t been outplayed on any of them. The boys are starting to believe in themselves and once you start believing in yourselves as a team that becomes really powerful and I couldn’t be happier at the moment.”

“Shan (Masood) has been outstanding, of course. He has led from the front and has taken a lot of batsmen with him but as good as he has been I thought Suranga Lakmal in this game has been outstanding. The spell he bowled today was world-class and those two have galvanised the team.”

Lakmal is on a two-year contract with Derbyshire where he is reunited with former Sri Lanka head coach Arthur.

Arthur joined Derbyshire last December after Sri Lanka Cricket failed to retain his services and played a role in getting Lakmal to Derbyshire.

“Suranga knows my standards and can set the example for our young players on and off the field, and to add his quality to our ranks gives us a whole new dimension with the ball,” said Arthur.

Lakmal added: “Experiencing county cricket is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time and the chance to work with Mickey again was something I couldn’t turn down.”

The start to the season did not prove to be all that lucrative for Lakmal as he strived to adjust to the English conditions conceding 100 runs for two wickets and going wicketless in the second innings for 62 runs in his debut match against Middlesex at Lord’s which ended in a draw.

The following match against Sussex at Derby also did not yield any wickets for Lakmal who had figures of none for 28 and none for 53. The match was drawn.

Ajmal Shahzad, assistant coach of Derbyshire said on the club’s official Twitter account, “Suranga is genuinely a good bloke. We know his numbers and the caliber of player we got. But the fact he’s talking to Nick Potts, even in limited English, at the top of his mark and trying to help Pottsy through his spell that tells you the kind of person he is. He’s probably not taken the wickets he wanted yet, but every ball he’s putting every bit of effort he’s got into it for the team.”

Lakmal’s fourth match for Derbyshire is against Glamorgan at Derby starting on 28 April.